News

The College of Business Administration recently celebrated the end of the 2020-2021 academic year with a gathering of faculty and staff. Dr. Mark Frascatore, Dean, offered his thanks and congratulations to all of his faculty for their dedication to their students during this unusual pandemic year. In addition, three faculty were recognized for their excellence in research, service and teaching. Congratulations went to Dr. Kilho Shin, Excellence in Research, Dr. Lisa Williams, Excellence in Service and Ed Hutton, Excellence in Teaching for the 2020-2021 term.

Dr. Kilho Shin, joined the College of Business as an assistant professor in management in the fall of 2019 after receiving his Ph.D. from the University of Texas at Arlington, with a concentration in strategic management.

His research interests are in time in strategy; strategic change and adaptation; the role of environment in strategy; and knowledge management.

Dr. Shin and his co-author(s) had two manuscripts published in 2020. The first paper “Knowledge Acquisition Efficiency, Strategic Renewal Frequency and Firm Performance in High Velocity Environments” was published in the Journal of Knowledge Management. It brings aspects of strategic renewal frequency and knowledge acquisition efficiency on how firms can achieve a competitive position in high velocity environments. Shin described that, “The empirical results of the paper, based on primary (interview and survey) data from strategic decision makers, show that strategic renewal frequency can work as a viable temporal strategy, especially when industries exhibit discontinuous changes.”

The second paper “Learning, Dynamic Capabilities and Firm Performance: The Case of Entrepreneurial Firms” was published in the Entrepreneurship Research Journal seeks to fill a research gap in the development of entrepreneurial capabilities. In their research, Shin says, “We argue that human resource flexibility as an entrepreneurial dynamic capability facilitates organizational knowledge acquisition to develop effective marketing strategies, which in turn increases firm performance. By using Structure Equation Modeling, we found a general support of our contentions.”

In addition, Shin and his research team received the Business Deans Restricted Research Grant Award for the excellence of their research proposal from the College of Business at the University of Texas at Arlington this past summer. Using this research grant, the team surveyed U.S. and U.K. entrepreneurs running firms 10 years or younger through Prolific. Then they developed a manuscript examining how the temporal dispositions of entrepreneurs (i.e., time urgency, and past, present, and future temporal foci) allow their new ventures to respond to the challenges presented by a major crisis. Shin explained that, “We find that new ventures run by entrepreneurs with both present and future temporal foci are better able to respond to the challenges created by the COVID-19 pandemic.” This manuscript will be presented at the 2021 Academy of Management Annual Virtual Meeting in August 2021.

Dean Frascatore commented, “Kilho Shin was the deserving winner of the faculty Researcher of the Year Award. Dr. Shin is one of our up-and-coming star scholars, and in just his second year has already demonstrated multiple successes in his field of research. I look forward to Dr. Shin's continued success in the future - and congratulations!”

Dr. Lisa Williams received the Excellence in Service award. She is an associate professor of management and joined Niagara in 2010 after earning her Ph.D. in Business Administration from the State University of New York at Buffalo. She majored in Organizational Behavior and Human Resources with a minor in Communications.

Williams explained the value and knowledge she has gained by her service on a variety of committees. She remarked, "Through service, I've had the opportunity to work with many of the talented and dedicated members of the NU community, and increased my appreciation for the complexities of managing a university and NU's mission. I have greatly enjoyed this very interesting and rewarding work, and thank my colleagues in the College of Business Administration for their kind recognition of my participation."

Williams is very active in service to the University, currently serving as President of Niagara’s Lay Teachers Association (NULTA). Prior to that she served on NULTA’s Collective Bargaining Negotiation team for three years and was interim Vice President for a year.

Williams has also been involved in several General Education committees, including as co-chair of the Gen Ed committee, and chair of the General Education Global Awareness Subcommittee, and as a member of the General Education First-year Seminar subcommittee. She has served since 2018 as the co-coordinator of NU’s Beginning Freshman Experience.

Her background in human resources has been very useful in her work as she has served on both the Community of the Workplace Culture Initiative, as co-chair, and a member of the Human Resources/Legal Restart committee.

Offering thoughts of appreciation, Dean Frascatore shared, “Dr. Williams' selfless contribution of her time and efforts to the College of Business, Niagara University, and beyond are very much appreciated. I'm delighted to see Dr. Williams' efforts recognized, and congratulations!”

Edward Hutton, associate professor of finance, received the award for Excellence in Teaching. Hutton has been with Niagara for 14 years and is also the director of the financial services lab. He earned an M.S. in Financial Economics from the State University of New York at Buffalo and an MBA with a concentration in Finance from Canisius College.

Prior to teaching at Niagara, Hutton worked 29 years in the Investment Management Industry and is a Chartered Financial Analyst. This provided him with a unique understanding of both the academic and career aspects of the finance field, and drives the way that he approaches teaching.

Hutton brings many activities and experiences to Niagara to increase student engagement, such as outside speakers, student visits to the financial markets in New York City, Chicago, and Toronto, and participation in professional society activities including CFA Society, and college-based competitions such as the CFA Investment Research Competition.

Hutton created the course FIN 690, Applied Portfolio Management in 2011, which provides the opportunity for students to manage the “Monteagle Fund”, a portion of Niagara University’s endowment. Started with an initial contribution of $90,000 from Niagara’s Board of Trustees, these funds are managed by students in three finance classes. Students select, monitor, and report to the Board of Trustees, Investment Committee on these funds. Hutton shared that, “Over the years, students have said that it was the most impactful experience of their Niagara education. Today, the assets being managed by the students in the funds have grown to over $430,000.”

Hutton said that a key aspect as a faculty advisor and teacher, “is showing students pathways to successful careers, such as through CFA (Chartered Financial Analyst), FRM (Financial Risk Manager) and CFP (Certified Financial Planning) certifications, as well as by visiting investment banks and the New York Stock Exchange on student trips.” He includes many real world simulations into his teaching, which go beyond the standard textbook questions and problems. In all of his classes, students utilize the technology they will use in their careers, including financial modeling in Excel, and research databases such as Capital IQ, TD Ameritrade Trade Station, and Morningstar.

Dean Frascatore shared his congratulations, “As someone who has seen Mr. Hutton teach and has taught alongside him, I can say that he is one of the most gifted teachers I have ever met. Congratulations to Ed Hutton on this well-deserved award!”